Life Experiences & Observations

Sit Down, Buckle Up, Hang On, and Enjoy My Blog Ride

Month: September, 2013

A Movie, the Laughter, and the Right Decision

Marriage is tough and takes a ton of work, especially to stay married for many years. Every once in awhile, you have one of those nights that after it is done, you know you made the right choice in marrying your significant other. For me, last night, was one of those nights. What seemed like a rare night out with my wife, we decided to do one of the usual things which was to go see a movie. It was the movie “Enough Said” and was at a unique movie theater that plays indie flicks and is fighting for its life due to the moss creeping development around it. At that movie, I felt like we were having the type of fun that makes people think, “what drugs are they on?” The movie was excellent and mostly humorous, although it contained multiple points of unexpected sadness. To add another layer of sorrow, one of the leading characters was James Gandolfini who has since passed away.

I remember at one point in the movie when the sadness flowed liked a busted drain pipe, my wife whispering over to me… “you owe me a happy movie.” It was in a loving tone and made me smile while trying to hold back a tear from the movie content itself. There were other glorious treasured moments. During the movie, somebody’s watch alarm went off not once but twice. When it did, it sounded as if it was coming from right below our seats. It was as if a cloaked seat monster was upon us. My wife looked in her purse, I looked at my phone, and I even looked at my watch. Needless to say it was not from us. Near the end of the movie, when the ending was clear as day, I whispered to her… “here comes the happy ending.” In a movie like this it worked for me even though I tend to prefer the unusual ending. My wife, however, liked the ending as happy endings are her security blanket.

After the movie was over we discussed and laughed about the beeping watch that couldn’t be discovered. When I mentioned that I had even looked at my 60s windup watch that I got from my grandfather’s estate, we busted up laughing so hard we were crying. As I was wiping the tears of joy from my cheeks I could see patrons passing through the aisle looking at us. The first few were wondering what was going on while the rest seemed envious. They had just seen a movie and we had just seen the joy of life and marriage.

It’s nights like this that I understand clearly why I married my wife. We ultimately drove home from the theater and while I didn’t get lucky that night I definitely felt lucky.

Advertisement

Who is in your DNA?

Have you ever had something, someone, or some experience that was so core to you growing up that it became part of your DNA? While there are many for me, one that sticks out most recently is the band from Minneapolis called The Suburbs. I grew up idolizing this group like a high pitch screaming girl at a Beatles concert. I saw them multiple times in concert and even started playing their songs in my own rock band. The first song my Junior High rock band learned was Number 9 by The Suburbs. While we were relatively new to playing music together, I remember learning this song to be extremely difficult. We ultimately pulled it off but it never really sounded like I had hoped. It’s as if we were playing this song like a monkey puppet with too many strings.

What got me thinking of my childhood and how this band impacted it was their post on Facebook of an upcoming concert in New York City. Despite the death of one previous member and the retirement of another, they had enough gumption to revive The Suburbs six stringed defibrillator. They hustled on Kickstarer and were able to raise just over $73,000. Even though they will never quite be the classic band I grew up listening to with a jubilus ear, I am so excited to see them back and revving again like a Harley engine.

If you have the chance, I highly recommend checking out their web site and maybe even buying their new CD Si Sauvage. I have to say that this plug is totally self serving as I am hoping they will regain popularity enough to make a trip down to my neck of the woods. What have you got to lose except a few minutes that you would probably lose anyway surfing a very flat internet wave.

Rainbow of Another Life

Life’s emotional pitchfork

scares me like a blade of danger.

A soulless wrinkled casing is prepared for disintegration

as the rainbow of another life rises into the air.

The sky cries steel

while a pirate smiles, a crescent moon.

The genetic chain is the glue of guilt

from my 31st cousin, the human race.

Everyday

is my day of mourning death,

and my day of celebrating life,

for the rest of eternity.

Here I Go Again

So I am just getting started on my second blog.  Yes, I am crazy enough to try and manage two blogs at once.  Now for full time writers and bloggers this maybe a simple task but for me it is a monstrous task since I have a full time job and I have two full time daughters.  Sure I would like some part time daughters but I don’t know where to find them.  So why do I need two blogs you ask?  Well this blog is going to be less structured and less focused than my other blog.  My posts here could be about anything but will mostly focuses on the crazy life experiences and observations I have on a regular basis.  It will also be more stream of conscious thoughts rather than posts with careful reviewing and editing.  Because of this, I apologize in advance for any typographical or spelling errors.  But some of the best writing is raw and cold like meat hanging in a butcher shop.  It just contains whatever you think of whenever you think of it, with the finalization of throwing it down on paper.

roller coasterI will also post some of my poetry periodically.  Mostly when I can’t think of anything substantial to say and therefore must lean on my short yet creative poetry muscle.  So buckle up, grab a hand rail, and hold on tight because we are going for a ride!